4 cyl not that slow

Learned to drive on my parents late 60s VW van (59hp). Topped out at 65mph. Moved from that to a 70 Fury Sport 440 sixpack. It was a little faster!

 

The 1978 Pontiac Trans Am with the stock 6.6 liter engine that I sold in the 90s had 185hp and 321 for torque. I'm not sure that it would have beat our 2016 Tacoma in a drag race. Having owned a 1999 Tacoma and a 2009 Suzuki Equator with 4 banger engines, I can say that from a red light most cars and trucks normally take off a lot slower than those trucks when pressed. Load a 4 cylinder truck with max load and trailer and then you have a big loss in takeoff and hill climbing speed.

 

I had an old cj jeep with a tiny v6 back in the 60's. Bought a 66 gto in 71 without an engine and transmission. With the help of friends and contacts down south, i was able to buy a used nascar 421 sd engine complete with the 500 cfm dual quads. Had the engine rebuilt, along with rebuilding a muncie junkyard transmission for the car. Back in the day, it probably was one of the fastest street driven 66 gto's i've even seen.

 

My 2.7 (Summer blend - Cruise Control - Doing the speed limit - 90% two-lane country roads - Flat, no stop-n-go) averages 27.8 mpg.....

 

That's awesome.
The conditions you describe (except cruise) are where my V6 M/T can get excellent mileage as well. 50 - 80kmh:


Now, before the naysayers cry BS..
NO, this isn't my everyday mileage;
NO, you're not looking at the tank average trick. Look at the distance traveled. It's TRIP AVERAGE;
YES, my truck is mostly stock.

 

Did it have a Pedal Commander?

 

Me too!!! 1979 240D

 

I love 2 lane country roads relaxing to drive on and scenic. The only ones we have in NJ are south like when I head to Great Adventure I can average high 20s too! On the highway with everyone doing 75-80... not so much.

Heard a hybrid Taco is due out 2024... wonder what took Toyota so long they've had the hybrid tech forever...

 

Need to see pics of that, too bad youtube wasn't around to see a video or hear it run.

 

FWD based hybrid tech isn't quite compatible with a RWD based platform. Does it take 20 years to make an adaptation ... probably not. Only now that the demand is there is Toyota delivering.

 

I wonder if the Tundra guys get a kick out of threads like this.

 

The Hybrid Tundra only gets like 1 MPG better than the regular gas model so the Hybrid part is basically just for more power, guessing the Tacoma Hybrid will be marketed the same whenever it actually comes out.